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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 17, p. 78.

78 NALDA DTSTRICT south-west new chars have attracted a number of Muhammadan culti- vators from English Bazar and Nawabganj, and from Murshidabad on the other side of the river. The immigrants from the Santal Parganas now number 43,000 ; and there is also a considerable immigration from Bhagalpur and other Bihar Districts, and from the United Pro- vinces. The population is contained in 3,555 villages and three towns ENGLISH BAZAR, the head-quarters, MALDA, and NAwnBGANJ. Bengali is spoken by 74 per cent. of the population and Bihar! by 2 r per cent. ; the Mahananda river forms a linguistic boundary, the northern dialect of Bengali being prevalent in the east of the District, while in the west the Magadhi dialect of Bihaai is the vernacular. The Mahananda is likewise a religious boundary ; and the two main religions are nearly equally divided, Hindus (440,398) constituting 50 per cent. of the population and Muhammadans (424,969) 48 per cent. Of the Muhammadans, no less than 399,ooo are Shaikhs ; they are probably for the most part descended from the Rajbansis or Koch, who form the prevailing race of North Bengal east of the Mahananda, and are the most numerous of the Hindu castes in the District (64,000). Santals (including 18,ooo returned as Animists) number 52,000, Chains (who are semi-Hinduized aborigines) 44,ooo, and Chasatis 27,000 ; while among the less numerous castes, Gangai (Gangeh) with 13,ooo and Pundari (Puro) with 8,ooo are distinctive of this part of the country. Agriculture supports 57 per cent. of the population, industries i9 per cent., and the professions one per cent. The only Christian mission at work in the District belongs to the London Baptist Missionary Society; it has met with but little success, the number of native Christians in igoi being 173. The low-lying recent alluvium in the west and south is enriched by annual deposits of silt, and its fertile soil is well adapted for the culti- Agriculture. vation of rice, mulberry, indigo, and mangoes. The stiff clay soil of the Barind, which is best suited to the growth of winter rice, produces also large crops of pulses and oil seeds. The north and north-west corner of the District lying between the Mahananda, the Kalindri, and the Ganges is intersected by nullahs and covered with jungle; the soil here is extremely poor, but the short grass affords pasturage to a considerable number of cattle. In 1903-4 the net cropped area was estimated at 1,120 square miles and the cultivable waste at 455 square miles; about 7 per cent. of the net cultivated area is twice cropped. Rice constitutes the staple food- crop and is grown on 611 square miles, of which 312 square miles are estimated to be under the winter crop, while on most of the remainder early rice is grown. Wheat covers rig square miles, barley 34 square miles, maize 25 square miles, pulses (including gram) and other food- grains 153 square miles, oilseeds (chiefly mustard) 105 square miles,